Business Owner to CEO: Pragmatic ideas that work for owners and managers building a better business

This book is written for business owners, managers and employees who work in organisations that employ approximately 20 to 200 people and typically have revenues in the range $2 to 100 million. Logically it will have value in similar sized divisions of larger organisations. The goal is to assist you become a better leader and manager as you grow the place where you work. In the book the Author reflects on ten years as CEO at Rockend, a Sydney based software company where he applied his previous "large" company experience to grow revenues by six times and profits by more than ten times. This was achieved through selling and delivering good software products but it was underpinned by building a competent and engaged workforce that every day served a committed and sticky customer base which grew from 1200 to 4500 organisations. Many of the ideas applied at Rockend were based on the Authors previous experience in large organisations and the importance of focusing on core concepts often overlooked in our instant internet based learning world. The books of Peter Drucker, Fred Herzberg, Daniel Golman, Edward de Bono, Stephen Covey, David Packard and many others provide important theory and examples of good practice. Many books written by these men were distributed and discussed by the Author in the workplace and at off-site training events. The Authors real life work experience in focusing on the importance of recruitment, constant learning & development and building a trusting work environment are outlined in a way they can be applied even in a small organisation where resources may be limited. The book provides many key ideas on how to focus on people, the importance of understanding personality and behavior, how 360 degree feedback tools can be applied and the real value of company wide employee engagement surveys. Today these "soft" people tools are often not used in the SME space, but the Authors experience proves that they can make a big difference to the culture and quality of an organisation and the rate of growth, when well applied. More SME businesses will use them as their value is recognised. Some readers businesses will be positioned for growth after the hard early years, some may be facing new challenges that require more time ‘working on the business,’ rather than in it! There is one thing common for most business owners of a growing business; you want to transfer more responsibility to others in the business to accelerate growth. So if you are seeking new ideas on how to build a better team and a better business; And ask yourself "how do I plan better", "is there a secret to better recruiting" or "we communicate well, but can we do it better to increase staff engagement," read-on. After an enjoyable career as a business engineer, consultant, sales leader and CEO, John Goddard now seeks to help other business leaders through applying good practice and holding oneself to account as you become a skilled CEO.